Ski pole hand/wrist attachment

ABSTRACT

A ski pole wrist attachment is composed of a cuff member formed of a resilient material into a continuous loop open at a single point thereof. The ends of the loop are biased to flex apart when subjected to a sharp pulling force thereon to allow a skier&#39;&#39;s hand and wrist to be removed from the attachment. A flexible strap joins the cuff member to the handle of the ski pole and is arranged to provide support for a skier&#39;&#39;s hand when the skier grasps the strap and handle of the ski and when the cuff member is placed about the skier&#39;&#39;s hand or wrist.

United States Patent Penney 1 Dec. 2, 1975 1 1 SKI POLE HAND/WRIST ATTACHMENT 3,226,825 1/1966 Molinari 224/28 R 3,367,056 2/1968 Johnson 224/28 R [761 mentor: 9"?1 Armstmng F 365 3,433,495 3/1969 Christensen 280/1137 H gi g Salt Lake Y Utah 3,658,356 4/1972 Van Reyper 1. 280/1137 H [22] Filed; Aug, 5, 1974 Primary ExaminerDavid Schonberg Assistant Examiner-David M. Mitchell [211 App]. No.. 494,743 Attorney, Agent, or FirmCriddle & Thorpe Related US. Application Data [63] Continuation-impart of Ser. No. 315,882, Dec. 18, [57] ABSTRACT 1972 A ski pole wrist attachment is composed of a cuff member formed of a resilient material into a continu- Ous loop Open at a Single point thereof The ends of H H 37 the loop are biased to flex apart when subjected to a sharp pulling force thereon to allow a skiers hand and 224/28 28 45 wrist to be removed from the attachment. A flexible strap joins the cuff member to the handle of the ski pole and is arranged to provide support for a skiers [56] References cued hand when the skier grasps the strap and handle of the UNlTED STATES PATENTS ski and when the cuff member is placed about the ski- 754,241 3/1904 Roll 224/28 A ers hand or wrist. 3,163,436 12/1964 Shride et a1 280/1137 H 3,181,880 5/1965 Cameron et a1. 280/1137 H 10 (flalms, 5 Drawing Flgures it t) US. Patent Dec. 2, 1975 SKI POLE HAND/WRIST ATTACHMENT BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending application, Ser. No. 315,882, filed Dec. 18, 1972, for Ski Pole Handle, now US. Pat. No. 3,879,048.

This invention relates to a novel hand/wrist attachment or clamp for a ski pole.

The increased popularity of the sport of skiing in recent times has, in part, stimulated numerous improvements and refinements in ski equipment. Both skis and ski poles have undergone significant changes as regards configuration and the material used in their fabrication, the two principal objectives in making such changes being to provide stronger and lighter-weight equipment and to provide equipment which is safer to the skier.

In spite of the advances made in ski equipment generally, very little has been done to improve the standard ski pole strap or the manner of coupling the ski pole to the skiers wrist. The strip used today is essentially the same as those used years ago. This strap typically consists of a closed loop piece of material fastened to the top of the handle of a ski pole. The skiers hand is slipped into the loop through the bottom to enable the skier to grasp the ski handle and a portion of the strap lying against the handle, with the remaining portion of the strap encircling the back of the skiers hand or wrist. Although this configuration has proved generally acceptable, it is oftentimes cumbersome to fit the gloved hand of a skier through the loop and into position and, once the hand is in position, it will not readily slip free from the strap even if a significant force is applied to the ski pole. The concern with this latter difficulty, of course, is that a skiers hand or wrist could be injured if the ski pole were caught, for example, in the snow, terrain brush or lift equipment and the hand did not slip out of the strap.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a ski pole hand/wrist attachment into which a skier may readily insert his hand or wrist and from which a skiers hand and wrist may be easily released.

It is another object of the present invention, in accordance with one embodiment thereof, to provide a ski pole hand/wrist attachment which additionally provides support for the skiers hand.

It is a further object of the present invention, in accordance with one embodiment thereof, to provide a ski pole hand/wrist attachment which protects at least a portion of the back of a skiers hand.

These and other objects of the present invention are realized in a specific illustrative embodiment which includes a cuff member for placement about a skiers hand or wrist, with the cuff member having an opening at one point therein to enable the skier to slip his hand or wrist through the opening into the cuff member. A strap is joined at one end to the cuff member and at the other end to the handle portion of a ski pole. This construction provides a reasonably secure attachment of the ski pole to the skiers hand or wrist while at the same time allowing the hand or wrist to slip from the coupling when the pole is subjected to a force of suffcient magnitude that the skiers arm and wrist would otherwise be damaged.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following detailed description presented in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a ski pole hand/wrist attachment made in accordance with the principles of the present invention and shown mounted on a ski pole;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the attachment of FIG. 1 with a skiers hand shown disposed in the attachment and grasping the ski pole handle;

FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of the attachment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the attachment; and

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of another embodiment of a ski pole hand/wrist attachment made in accordance with the principles of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION One embodiment of a ski pole hand/wrist attachment is shown in FIGS. l4 mounted on a ski pole handle 2. As will be apparent from the following description, this embodiment facilitates both insertion of a skiers hand or wrist into the attachment and release of the hand or wrist from the attachment if a force is applied to pull the ski pole out of the grasp of the skier. Additionally, the preferred embodiment provides support for the skiers hand when the hand is grasping the ski handle and provides protection for the back of the skiers hand.

The hand/wrist attachment shown in FIGS. 1-4 includes a cuff member 4 attached by means of a strap 6 to the top of the ski pole handle 2. The cuff member 4 is formed of a band of resilient material, such as plastic, hard rubber, etc., into a continuous loop 8 open or broken at a single point 10 of the loop. With this configuration, the cuff member 4 fits primarily about a skiers hand as shown in FIG. 2, as would a bracelet. The cuff member ends 8a and 8b formed at the open or broken point 10 are naturally resiliently biased towards one another and yet will flex apart sufficiently to enable insertion of a hand or wrist through the opening 10 into the cuff member. That is, the cuff member ends 8a and 8b may be spread apart so that the skiers hand or wrist can pass therebetween after which the cuff member ends spring back to their original attitude clamping against the sides of the hand as shown in FIG. 2. In this embodiment, the cuff member 4 fits about the hand to give the wrist free movement. If it were desired to provide support for the wrist then, of course, the cuff member 4 could be adapted to fit about the wrist or about the wrist and hand.

If additional biasing of the cuff member ends is desired, a leaf spring of resilient metal, shown by dotted line 12 in FIG. 3, could be incorporated as the core of the cuff member. Plastic, hard rubber or other resilient material could then be formed to cover the core 12 as also generally shown in FIG. 3.

The cuff member 4 is attached to the ski pole handle 2 by means of a flexible strap 6. The strap is formed of two leg portions 6a and 6b joined together at one end for attachment to the upper portion of the ski pole handle 2. The opposite or free ends of the legs 6a and 6b are joined to one edge of the cuff member 4 at spaced apart locations thereon. These locations are generally opposite the location of the opening 10 of the cuff member 4. Preferably, the strap 6 is integrally formed with the cuff member 4 from the same material. The strap 6 may be attached to the ski pole handle 2 by a screw 14 or other suitable means.

The cuff member 4 and strap 6 are arranged so that when the combination is hanging free from the ski pole handle 2, the opening 10 is directed generally outwardly of the ski pole 3. For a skier to insert his hand or wrist in the cuff member 4, he simply either spreads the ends 8a and 8b apart to allow passage of his hand or wrist therethrough into the cuff member 4, or simply turns his hand or wrist sideways and urges it against the ends 8a and 8b causing the ends to spread apart from the pressure and allow passage of the hand or wrist. The skier then grasps the handle 2 so that the strap legs 6a and 6b lie against the palm of the skiers hand and pass from the upper portion of the palm downwardly across the heel of the hand to the cuff member 4 (see FIG. 2). In this position, the cuff member 4 and strap 6 provide support for the hand when the skier applies a downward pressure on the ski pole 3.

The described configuration allows the skiers hand to slip through the opening 10 and out of the cuff member 4 should a force be applied to the pole 3 to pull the pole away from the skiers hand. This insures that the skiers arm or hand will not be injured should the ski pole bind againstsome object or become entangled in the ski lift equipment, bushes or trees, etc.

The width of the cuff member 4 is such that a substantial part of the back of a skiers hand is covered by the cuff member and this provides protection for the hand, for example, were the skier to bang his hand against a ski racing gate or the like. A width of from one to two inches is especially suitable for providing such protection.

Although the strap 6 is flexible, it may be desirable to make it sufficiently stiff so that even when a skier were not gripping the ski pole handle, the cuff member 4 and strap 6 would maintain the handle fairly close to the palm of the hand to enable the skier to close his hand and grip the handle. The stiffness necessary to allow this can, of course, be readily determined.

Although the embodiment of FIGS. 14 of the ski pole hand/wrist attachment provides for joining the strap 6 to the top of the ski handle 2, an alternative arrangement shown in FIG. 5 would be to attach the strap 6 near the bottom of the handle 2. With this arrangement, the strap 6 would not provide support for the hand of the skier, but the cuff member 4 would provide a secure and yet safe means of attaching the ski pole 3 to the skiers hand or wrist. Thus, the ski pole could hang or drag from the skiers wrist when not in use or when the skier falls and yet would release from the skiers hand or wrist when subjected to a force of sufficient magnitude that the skiers arm or wrist might be injured if the ski pole remained connected thereto.

It is to be understood that the above-described arrangement is only illustrative ofthe application of the principles of the present invention. Numerous other modifications and alternative arrangements may be devised by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention and the appended claims are intended to cover such modifications and arrangements.

What is claimed is: 1. In combination in a ski pole having a handle portion, an attachment comprising a cuff member made of a band of material formed into a loop for placement about a skiers hand, said cuff member being open at a single point thereof forming a break in said loop and wherein the ends of the band formed at the break may be spread apart from a first attitude to enable slipping the hand or wrist through the opening into the cuff member and then returned to the first attitude, and

means joining the cuff member to the handle portion of the ski pole.

2. An attachment as in claim 1 wherein said cuff member band is sufficiently wide to cover a substantial portion of the back of a skiers hand.

3. An attachment as in claim 1 wherein said joining means is a strap joined to the bottom of the handle portion of the ski pole.

4. An attachment as in claim 1 wherein said joining means is a strap joined to the top of the handle portion of the ski pole.

5. An attachment as in claim 4 wherein said strap is flexible.

6. An attachment as in claim 5 wherein said strap includes two leg portions joined together at one end which is joined to the handle portion of the ski pole, the free ends of said two leg portions being joined to said cuff member band at spaced apart locations thereon to provide support for a skiers hand when grasping the strap and handle portion and when the cuff member is disposed about the skiers hand.

7. An attachment as in claim 6 wherein said strap and cuff member are integrallyformed.

8. An attachment as in claim 1 wherein said cuff member is formed of a resilient material and wherein the ends of the loop formed by the cuff member are biased towards one another.

9. An attachment as in claim 8 wherein said joining means is a strap joined to said cuff member at a location generally diametrically opposite the location of the opening so that the opening is directed outwardly of the ski pole.

10. An attachment as in claim 8 wherein said cuff member includes a core comprised of resilient metal, and

a resilient covering for said core. 

1. In combination in a ski pole having a handle portion, an attachment comprising a cuff member made of a band of material formed into a loop for placement about a skier''s hand, said cuff member being open at a single point thereof forming a break in said loop and wherein the ends of the band formed at the break may be spread apart from a first attitude to enable slipping the hand or wrist through the opening into the cuff member and then returned to the first attitude, and means joining the cuff member to the handle portion of the ski pOle.
 2. An attachment as in claim 1 wherein said cuff member band is sufficiently wide to cover a substantial portion of the back of a skier''s hand.
 3. An attachment as in claim 1 wherein said joining means is a strap joined to the bottom of the handle portion of the ski pole.
 4. An attachment as in claim 1 wherein said joining means is a strap joined to the top of the handle portion of the ski pole.
 5. An attachment as in claim 4 wherein said strap is flexible.
 6. An attachment as in claim 5 wherein said strap includes two leg portions joined together at one end which is joined to the handle portion of the ski pole, the free ends of said two leg portions being joined to said cuff member band at spaced apart locations thereon to provide support for a skier''s hand when grasping the strap and handle portion and when the cuff member is disposed about the skier''s hand.
 7. An attachment as in claim 6 wherein said strap and cuff member are integrally formed.
 8. An attachment as in claim 1 wherein said cuff member is formed of a resilient material and wherein the ends of the loop formed by the cuff member are biased towards one another.
 9. An attachment as in claim 8 wherein said joining means is a strap joined to said cuff member at a location generally diametrically opposite the location of the opening so that the opening is directed outwardly of the ski pole.
 10. An attachment as in claim 8 wherein said cuff member includes a core comprised of resilient metal, and a resilient covering for said core. 